A BRITISH escapologist, who hoped to out-maneuver Harry Houdini during a Buried Alive stunt, was left with a broken rib after he failed to break through to the surface almost nine minutes into the daring bid.

    Antony Britton hoped to escape unaided after being handcuffed and buried in a standard-size grave, under six feet (1.83 meters) of soil.

    But the daredevil had to be hauled out by crew members when he lost consciousness and now says he is “lucky to be alive.”

    An anxious audience at Slaithwaite Spa, West Yorks, watched as Britton was rescued, taken to a waiting ambulance and given oxygen, before coming round.

    Antony, from Linthwaite, West Yorks, walked away with a cracked rib and several minor scratches and said it could have been his last-ever show.

    “I almost died,” Britton said. “I was just seconds away from death. It was scary. The pressure of the soil was crushing around me.

    “Even when I found an air pocket, when I exhaled, the soil around me was crushing me even more. I could feel myself losing consciousness and there was nothing I could do. I was pretty much dying.”(SD-Agencies)